WSP launches tool to measure eco-performance of electronic products

New from WSP Environment & Energy, 'Ecofly' will assist designers and manufacturers of electronics benchmark eco-design and comply with the European Commission’s framework Directive on energy-using products (EuP).

Regulations under the EuP Directive from 2009 will bring in to force major new requirements for electrical equipment sold in the European Union, including minimum eco-design standards for a range of environmental performance parameters over the entire lifecycle of a product, from design and manufacturing to use and disposal. This will include energy consumption, water use, air emissions and waste generation.

The Directive will be progressively rolled out to most electrical and electronic products, including televisions, personal computers, boilers, street lights and imaging equipment. It also covers standby functions on all electronic equipment. Standards for each product group are being defined separately, with the first sets of standards anticipated in early 2009 for battery chargers, external power supplies and street lighting.

EcoFly is claimed to be the first commercial tool to provide practical help for designers, compliance managers and environmental managers to benchmark the eco-performance of their products and to confirm compliance with the EuP Directive. It was developed jointly by WSP Environment & Energy and specialist electronics business, PlesTech. The product is available in three formats: as a one off product evaluation by WSP staff, in an online package or embedded onto a client’s site and supported by WSP staff.

David Symons, director of corporate services at WSP Environment & Energy, comments: “The EuP will have wide-ranging impacts and manufacturers should be integrating the EuP into design teams today…EcoFly offers a simple compliance and benchmarking package for their products – for the first time design teams can see exactly where the carbon and the water goes in the product life cycle. This helps design teams address the whole life impact of their products, create new customer messages and demonstrate a real commitment to continual product improvement.”

Utilising Ecofly, WSP has examined a range of products and found a number of surprising results. For instance, a conventional 29 inch CRT television will use more than 62,000 litres of water over its entire life cycle and will generate 83kg of waste. A desktop PC will generate over 47kg of waste and will generate 38,000 litres of water. A mobile phone charger will emit the equivalent of almost 6kg of carbon dioxide over its life. The energy used to make a laptop is about the same as the energy used over its life (1,571 MJ consumed during use; 2,902 MJ consumed throughout its entire life cycle).